Navajo Police Update Missing Persons Poster, 73 Cases Still Unresolved

The Navajo Police Department circulated an updated Navajo Nation Missing Persons poster on March 19, listing 73 people still unresolved across the Nation's seven districts, with the Chinle District among those carrying open cases that directly touch Apache County communities.

The 73 missing individuals include 22 females and 51 males, spread across all seven NPD districts, including Kayenta and Shiprock. The department, based in Window Rock, released the updated list as part of ongoing efforts to locate the individuals, and the total reflects a decline of six from the January 17 version of the poster, which listed 79 names.

Some individuals on the poster have been missing since the 1970s. The department released the poster "in hopes that the information will be widely distributed among communities and possibly lead to new information that may help find missing loved ones." The poster includes multiple photos of missing people, some driver's license photos, and some faded and in black and white.

The update comes in a broader context of persistent crisis. American Indian and Alaska Native people face "a disproportionate risk" of facing violence, being murdered, or going missing, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, and they account for "a significant portion of the missing and murdered cases." In February, the FBI also released an updated list of verified missing persons from the Navajo Nation and New Mexico as part of ongoing efforts to improve reporting and recovery of missing persons in Indian Country. The Navajo Nation Washington Office said it remains focused on addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis affecting tribal communities.

Across the U.S., Indigenous communities have struggled with endemic violence targeting primarily women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people, violence that often ends with one going missing or being murdered, a crisis compounded by a lack of media attention.

The Navajo Police Department has noted it receives frequent questions about how to file a missing persons report. Anyone who believes a loved one is missing should file a report immediately with their local NPD District; information can be taken over the phone or in person. A full name, age, detailed description, last known location, and a recent photograph will be requested.

Anyone with possible information on any of the Navajo Nation missing persons cases can contact the Navajo Police Department tip line at (928) 686-8563 or email tips.npd@navajo-nsn.gov.